Quote:
Originally Posted by truckersteve
The first one was when my fleet manager set me up with trips that there was no way you could stay legal with D.O.T.
You had the legal and ethical obligation to refuse that load. You chose to disregard the law and common sense and you paid the price.
Quote:
The second one happened on a trip that I told my dispatcher that I was out of hours and need to take a break. I was told that I was to pick up the load and then take a break.
Again, you should have refused and you would have had the law behind you.
Quote:
Well needless to say I was fired after the accidents.
And this is one of the reasons you should have refused to run illegally. What would they do to you? Fire you? You could have turned around and sued them if they did - firing a driver for refusing to violate HOS regulations is illegal.
As it was, when you got into the wrecks, they fired you anyway, only now you have no legal leg to stand on in terms of recourse.
Quote:
So why is there a shortage- the industry is chasing more drivers away than they can get.
The industry didn't chase you away - you screwed yourself willingly and voluntarily.
Quote:
The famous saying that we do not have forced dispatch is true, if you do not take the load they park you in a truck stop and say there is no loads available.
At which point you go find someone else to work for. Preferably in another line of work. Oh wait, I can't say that, because according to some people here, trucking is so great. Never mind.
Quote:
So these companies can say and do what theywant and when something happens then it is the drivers fault! Any comments on this or a way to get it straightened out?
In everything you do but especially in trucking, the rule is CYA -
COVER YOUR ASS! It is better to be fired or starved out because you refused to violate HOS rules or drive while tired than it is to be fired for getting in a wreck. If you get fired for refusing dispatch, you can get another job driving some other morons truck tomorrow. If you get fired because you wrecked, you are SOL.
When push comes to shove, no truck company is going to stand behind you. They will screw you in a heartbeat because they know (thanks to the "driver shortage") that they can find someone to replace you before the drivers seat in your truck gets cold.
So CYA, protect that CDL regardless of who screams at you. Otherwise, when you wreck, you are out of a job and maybe out of the business, but your dispatcher keeps his job and insurance buys the company another truck. Your employment file gets put in a warehouse under the heading "SUCKER", only to be accessed when another company calls for references.